in case anyone is still reading this

here is an interesting article about an incident that happened at my alma mater, Grinnell.

Not American Enough

I know grading and posting are done with, but I just have to share an experience I had today with anyone who's going to read this.

So today I went back to my high school to see how I can get my IB score sent to the college I will be transferring to. The IB coordinator at our school was proctoring an IB examination. I didn't want to interrupt her and the whole entire class that was taking the test so I went to the my high school counselor to see if she can help me.

She told me that I have to talk to my IB coordinator about that so I told her the testing situation. She sort of laughed at me and told me "Oh, you're too Asian. You can walk in there. It's alright. You got to be more American."

My jaw just dropped when she told me that. I looked at her like "Are you serious?" That's the first time someone told me seriously that I'm not American enough.

I don't think she meant to be racist or mean, but the stereotype that Asians are timid while Americans are assertive is so normalized inside her head that she doesn't realized what she said was rather inappropriate. I don't think she would have made the same remark or even thought about such a thing if I was any other race.

So what was supposedly my personal character, timidity, became an attribute of my race. By the way, I do not think that it is considered timidity when I just want to be respectful to students who are taking a test they prepared two years for.

I think I've been a rather sheltered person throughout my life. I talked and discussed race in academic and friendly, social settings, but never really faced race so blatantly, so I was surprised when the incident happened. It's not that I don't know that stereotypes exist and people conform to them, it's just it has never been directed personally at me. It was an interesting experience to say the least and I just want to share it with you guys. What do you guys make of it? What is BEING American to you?

Last Weekend

Last weekend, one of my friends found herself being harassed by men she didn't know on two different occasions Saturday night. Both incidents involved young black males; the first was a man asking her to come to him and then following her when she tried to leave until he saw a group of young white men outside the Library. The second incident happened 20 minutes later when a group of 5 young black guys came in and were knocking on her door saying "Where the white woman at?"

Naturally, my friend, who was home alone, was terrified and unsure of what to do. She called me and asked if I could come over and keep her company. While I was there they knocked on the window and yelled for her some more. Later, when she was telling the story to her boyfriend, emphasizing the fact they were all black. This made me wonder if it had been a white guy and a group of white guys, rather than blacks, would she have been so afraid. It is difficult to tell when people are using race as an identifier, or if they are suggesting more when they describe their experiences.

Dealing with White Guilt

A struggle that I am still not sure how to fight is combatting the idea of white guilt and what it means for me in my life. I know that by living my life differently and fighting for equality that I am rectifying the damage that whites have done to minorities throughout history. However, when people speak of privilege and advantage, and I know that I have received some of this, I don't know what to think. It amazes me that much of this did not occur to me until this year, in our class, so what should I do to confront this dilemma?

Today at the gas station....

I had a very interesting experience at the gas station this morning. After pulling up at the gas station, I got out of my car to go inside and there was a black man standing by the door. He kept asking me "where my man was at" and out of habit, I simply ignored him. Upon coming out of the gas station, the man was still there and continued to question me. I simply laughed the situation off, as this type of thing happens all the time, especially because I work as a bartender. However, there was a young white man, most likely of college age, that walked out of the gas station behind me. He was very offended by what the other man was saying to me. Although I don't necessarily think that he heard the conversation that the guy was trying to hold with me, he made a point to walk over to him and tell him to leave me alone and stop harassing me.

I think that the interesting part is that if the man questioning me had not been black, I don't think that the young white gentleman would have even paid any attention. Despite the fact that he didn't even necessarily know what was being said, simply saw the two of us and assumed that I was uncomfortable with the situation. Although I was somewhat aggravated by the fact that this guy would not leave me alone, I was also kind of frustrated at the fact that the white guy automatically assumed that he was bothering me. Any thoughts?

Diverse Community on SLU's Campus

For my paper I mad a survey, partially bases of Nathan's book "My Freshman Year". The book is an ethnographic research about what it is like to be a part of the college community, especially for freshman. Rebekah Nathan went back to school as a freshman, although she was a professor at the school, to research this topic. I took this idea and applied it to SLU. One of the things she put into a survey she asked students was if they though they had a diverse group of friends. She then asked them to list their close friends. I did this (along with other questions) because I wanted to see if what she found would be the same on SLU"s campus too. So what do you think she found?

Well most people answered that they in fact did have a diverse group of friends... however, when asked to list their close friend they only listed students of their own race. I though there was no way this would be the case. It was. Are any of you surprised? When I conducted my survey I got about the same answers. Some people listed diverse friends while majority said they had a diverse group but when it came down to it they didn't. I wrote my entire paper about why I think this is the case, along with other issues. I'm interested to see what you guys think about this?

Political Correctness

Do we always have to appear politically correct?

I think in todays society this is a very interesting topic. Racism and racial questions exist as part of our society but often times we pretend they do not exist by being colorblind or I'll go as far as to say politically correct. I know this is considered the right way to act because we don't want to offend anyone. But by not wanted to really talk about the racial issues that exist are we just being as colorblind as Hartigan talked about in his book. If we try to be socially acceptable all the time are we really ever dealing with the issues our society faces. I think not. It is impossible to face something by being politically correct. Who gets to decide what is PC anyway? Elitist that are involved in an agenda to hide social problems all together. I thing the only way to stand up to this issue is learning how to talk about racism as it actually exist, a brutal, hurtful topic in most circumstances.

What do you all think? Should we aim to be PC?

Harassment-Bias Incident: SLU's Surprising Concern

Just today at 2:11 pm, the student population of SLU received this email:

All Students, Staff and Faculty,

Saint Louis University has received a report of a bias-related incident involving a SLU student near campus.

A female SLU student reported that an unknown male made a racially charged threat against her in the overnight hours of May 1. The alleged incident took place on Laclede Avenue near the Laclede Street Bar & Grill.

The University has reported the incident to St. Louis Police, and an investigation is under way to ascertain the identity of the individual who allegedly made the statement.

The Dean of Students and the Director of Public Safety have spoken to the student who made the report. Campus Ministry and Student Health and Counseling will provide support as requested.

Jennifer K. Scheessele

Director, Diversity and Affirmative Action

I, it's sad to say, do not usually pay much attention to these types of emails. I think living in this area begins to numb you to certain things; for example, I don't even notice when a siren goes off anymore. I think the same has happened with hearing about crime around campus. Yet, this particular email caught my interest, what intrigued me about the email was the subject of the crime which occurred. It was a verbal threat that was 'racially charged' that did not occur on campus and it was initiated from a (seemingly) non-SLU student. The amount of effort that has been put into the investigation of this occurrence is another thing I found very interesting. It may seem callous or harsh to say that I don't really feel that this amount of police involvement is quite that necessary. I must say the only information that I have of the situation is what was I gained from the above email.

Of course I am not saying that I do not believe active racism to be a very serious issue or offense, but part of me feels that the circumstances and the outcome of this particular incident do not necessarily warrant the degree of attention that it is being given. Something that this brought up in my mind was another recent DPS email that was sent about a sexual assault that occurred on campus between two SLU students. That email is as follows:

All Students, Staff and Faculty,

At approximately 4 a.m. on Saturday, May 1st, a female Saint Louis University student reported to the Department of Public Safety that she had been sexually assaulted at the Grand Forest Apartments.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police were immediately notified and are investigating. The alleged suspects have been identified by police.

Representatives of Student Life, Campus Ministry and Student Health & Counseling are providing support to the female student.

Michael R. Lauer

Director of Public Safety

I personally feel that this incident was one of an extremely severe nature and should have been given a great deal more attention. I am having trouble processing the two instances on the level of severity. With the sexual assault it actually happened in campus property to a SLU student by a SLU student...why does it not receive the kind of publicity that it deserves. Women at this school or any school need to be aware of the constant danger that they are potentially in even at the their very own campus, and unfortunately possibly even at their own residences. I do believe that the racially charged issues that have been occurring on campus are an issue to which the SLU community should be aware, yet I think that simply because there have been a number of issues all within a short period of time they are receiving more attention than necessary. If SLU decides to take care of the well-being and safety of their students, then it needs to be fairly distributed. Racism is a horrible thing that the school should not take lightly or shuffle under the rug, but the same is true for rape and sexual assault. Safety is safety, that does not change depending on the degree of embarrassment the school may feel after an incident.

The Real Eve

I am not sure if any of you have seen this documentary, but I was talking to some of my friends about it last night and I find it very interesting. The documentary discusses how everyone on Earth originated from a group of people in Africa. It utilizes mitochondrial DNA testing to prove just how close the DNA strands are among random people throughout the world. There is also a book of the same title that outlines this theory. Basically, the point of the documentary (and the book) is centered around the notion that we have all originated from a single race, and how our genetic lineage is all inter-related. I have actually seen the documentary a few times, and I would suggest anyone to watch it. It provides a new perspective on people thinking that one race is superior to another. After all, if we have all originated from the same group, how can any of us be superior over another? Has anyone else seen the documentary or read the book? If so, what are your thoughts?

Racism Toward Middle Easterners: When did it starts?

Over the weekend, there was another terrorist threat that happen in NY. The man who plotted it was a Pakistani American named Faisal Shahzad. A news report discussed the surprise of discovering that he is an American, well-educated, and has been living the "American dream" until the recent financial crisis. I thought it was interesting how people still think Middle Easterners and, specifically, terrorists are foreigners, unrelated to Americans in any way.

Anyways, over the last few years, news like these have surfaced often. Americans' view on people from the Middle East has changed since 9/11.
However, the region and the people are still very ambiguous to me. Before 9/11, we know very little about the Middle East besides the fact that it provides us oil. After 9/11, we still understand very little about the people and the region, beside what is shown on T.V. that they are the enemies.

I know there are many stereotypes about Middle Easterners right now, but what I want to know is: has there been racism toward these people even before 9/11? What race was these people categorized under before the word "Middle Eastern" elicits so much emotions and evoke so many ideas. Previously, were they perceived as simply black, white, or Asian, depending on their physical characteristics?

I think the fact that Middle Eastern becomes more popularly viewed as a race after 9/11 shows just how much the categorization of race changes depending on the sociological context.

The Office: Daryl and Stanley

Yet again...another TV show I watch!

I am close to obsessed with The Office, I watch every new episode, own nearly every season on DVD, and watch it whenever a re-run is on (I may have an issue). The main comedic draw of the show is that it capitalizes on awkward or taboo situations and makes them funny. The show depends on creating humor in situations that generally would make people uncomfortable and it does it fabulously. So often I find myself both laughing hysterically and feeling extremely uncomfortable at the same time; it's hard to know what to feel but I love it and it keeps me coming back for more.

Some of the greatest jokes that are slipped in are about race, which as I've pointed out in a separate blog is something that can be difficult to navigate. There are two main characters on the show that are black, one that is Indian, and one that is Mexican (who is also gay). Frequently the boss, Michael Scott, makes comments to one of the black employees (Stanley and Daryl) that assume they both exemplify all the common stereotypes of being a Black American. A re-run last night was an episode, from season three, that centered around a traditional Indian party to which the entire staff was invited. At one point Michael is trying to help the rest of the staff to appreciate the diversity and respect holidays of other cultures, he makes a side comment to Stanley about how the staff wont make fun of him when he celebrates Kwanza. Stanley replies that he does not celebrate Kwanza, and Michael then responds again by "Wha- really? You should. It's fun." These kind of simple statements are extremely common. Another one of my favorite quotes ever from the show was a dialog between Michael and Daryl that went as followed:

Michael Scott:	I was under the impression that this was going to be a rap.
Darryl:	What's rap?
Michael Scott:	Darryl, wow. You need to learn a lot about your own culture. I'll make you a mix.
Darryl:	Great.

The more I think about theses jokes, the more I think they are actually a good thing. Yes they do makes jokes using the topic of race, but so frequently they are also stating that so many stereotypes are wrong and should not be considered truth for any group of people. I think they are great because the are getting a good message across about not profiling or assuming but with an extremely funny and enjoyable delivery.

Arizona Immigration Law

I personally was pretty disgusted by the Immigration Law that was passed in Arizona recently because in my opinion in violates all of a person's civil liberties in the fact that they can be judged by other people. This law gives far too much authority to the cops when it comes to racial profiling and being able to demand papers off of anyone at any time is quite disturbing to me. This whole situation resembles Nazi Germany to me, because a particular group of people is being targeted for their supposed affect of the economy. Many people believe that the immigrants from Latin America are a burden on the economy and are stealing jobs away from the Americans who live here legally. These stereotypes are not true because this class of immigrants works a job that is not and never will be held by an American.

Do you agree?

Language

I am still seriously struggling with an idea that we never really finished discussing in class because we ran out of time. I still don't know where I stand on learning English when immigrants come to the United States because I totally understand both sides of the argument. I don't agree with the idea of assimilation and forcing people to embrace American culture, but I do know that there are many known benefits in store for immigrants when they do learn English. They have a better opportunity to get a good job, that would allow them to send more money home and support their families, which is often the region the migrated in the first place.

At the same time, I see the oppositions' side too because there is a fear of mass assimilation and forcing immigrants to learn English as part of becoming a citizen. The United States needs to become a multicultural society that is willing to embrace more people under the umbrella that is this immigrant country. The irony of the fact that this country is founded on the backs of immigrants is interesting because now we are refusing to admit immigrants onto American soil.

Ideas to solve my dilemma?

Frustration

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/04/foreign-connection-times-square-case-underscores-growing-pakistan-threat/

Really? Why do people have to conform to stereotypes? It just solidifies stubborn idiots' narrow views of others.

Categorizing People

One thing that I often wonder, is if, as a society, we will ever be able to move past categorizing people based on their physical appearances. Is this really an appropriate way to group people? Should we be able to assign meaning to a group of people based on their appearance and what we think the cultural behavior for that particular group may be?

Personally, I feel that our society is stuck on judging people based on their appearance. I think it is a very ambitious goal to assume that we will one day be able to move past this. I don't necessarily think that it is appropriate to assign cultural meanings to someone based on their physical appearance, but I feel that it is something that we all do. This goes hand in hand with stereotyping people. Despite the fact that we may be highly inaccurate, it is something that we do on a regular basis. I think that because people in this world are so inter-racially mixed that it is hard to assign cultural meaning to one's physical appearance. I wish that there was a way to show everyone in society that this is not an appropriate way to group people, but at the same time it is kind of human nature.

Stereotypes

There are stereotypes against every single race. Personally, I hate when people try to stereotype me. Many people think that just because I am white and I go to SLU that I come from a background with a lot of money and that everything has been handed to me my entire life...neither of which are the case. And it happens all the time. I realize that people thinking that I am of a wealthy background isn't necessarily the worst stereotype that they could have, and I often wonder how having negative stereotypes affect people's lives on a daily basis. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to constantly have people associating you with negative stereotypes, seeing as how I get frustrated with people thinking that my life has been easy. Typically, when I am stereotyped I immediately get offended and probably come off in a bad way. Has anyone else been in situations when they were stereotyped, and how did you deal with it?

Does Race Determine Opportunity

After talking in class about how race determines one's opportunities, this is something that I have been thinking about a lot. Does race, in fact, have an impact on an individual's opportunities?

Personally, in a way, I think that this is true. When one is of a minority race, it seems as though society places a burden on them, making it harder for them to get a job, find housing, etc. Even the schools and educational opportunities are different. Within St. Louis, the inner city is minority dominated, and the schooling system is not really comparable to that of the county, which are predominantly white. I think that this is important because an individuals education has a lot of emphasis on the opportunities that they receive throughout the rest of their life.

I feel that stereotypes play a major role in this as well. For example, the stereotype that "all Asians are smart" plays a role in the opportunities that they are given. Not to mention all of the stereotypes about whites and blacks. Despite the fact that these stereotypes may not be true, many people still base their decisions off of them.

Although I understand that this happens, I think that it is unfair. I think that everyone should be given the same opportunities. I don't think that it is fair to base an individuals opportunities off of where they grew up and the opportunities they were given as a child. After all, I don't think that it is someone's fault how or where they were raised, sometimes this is just outside of an individuals control.

Any thoughts?

I bet any one of you could have written this post...

here's the link from Savage Minds (an anthropology blog that I like a lot!). The title of the posting is Whiteness as Ethnicity in Arizona’s New Racial Order.

You Know You're Asian When...

So, similar to Christian Lander's "Stuff White People Like," there has been a list floating around the internet since forever about being Asian. The funny thing is, when I first read the list, I did notice that more than half the items applied to me. In fact, I counted today to be exact and 40 out of 62 apply. There are some truth to them, but, of course, they tend to over generalize a lot. Tell me, how much of this applies to you?

You know you're Asian if...

1. Your mother has a short-haired, curly perm
2. Your dad is some sort of engineer
3. Your parents still tried to get you into places half-price saying you were 12 when you were really 15
4. You ask your parents help on one math problem and 2 hours later they're still lecturing
5. You have a 40 lb. bag of rice in your pantry
6. You shop 99 ranch
7. Everyone thinks you're "Chinese" no matter what part of Asia your ancestors were from
8. You've had a bowl haircut at one point in your life
9. Your parents enjoy comparing you to their friends' kids
10. You've had to sit through karaoke videos with scantily clad, ugly Asian women attempting to dance and walk around a temple, forest, or library
11. Your parents say, "Don't forget your heritage"
12. You drive mostly Japanese cars.
13. You've learned to keep bargaining even if the prices are rock bottom
14. You've had to eat parts of animals they don't even put in hot dogs
15. At least once, you've started a joke with "Confucius say...."
16. You know what bok choy is
17. You've gotten little red envelopes around February
18. Piles of shoes tend to make it hard to open the front, back, and closet doors
19. You hear (your name + eee (optional) + yah!) every time someone calls you (e.g. Jean - ee - yah! or Mary - yah!)
20. You have no eyelashes
21. Idiot people try to impress you with pathetic imitation Asian languages, like the ever-so-popular: ching chong woo bok chi, etc..
22. Your parents say leaving rice in your bowl is a sin
23. The Bio lectures on marine life (seaweed, sea cucumbers, octopii) was last night's dinner
24. Your ancestors 1000 generations back invented the back scratcher
25. At least one family member wears black wire/plastic frame glasses
26. Your parents hover over your tired, caffeine-drugged body at 12 midnight to say, "In Korea (or other native country), we studied even more."
27. Your parents expect you'll be best friends with any one off the street in any given area as long as they are Asian
28. An Asian woman comes on campus and people ask: "Is that your mother?" Well then, "Is it your sister?"
29. Your relatives' houses smell like incense, mothballs or both
30. Your parents say, "Calculus? I took Calculus in 8th grade!"
31. Everyone thinks you're good at math
32. Your parents' vocabulary is filled with "ai-yahs, and Wah's"
33. You like $1.75 movies
34. You like $1.50 movies even more
35. Your aunts and uncles bring you back adorable clothing from Asia with fuzzy bunnies, vinyl ducks, and English words that make no sense, in great colors like yellow, pink, magenta, orange, and the ever popular lime green
36. Your parents insist you marry within your race
37. You never order chop suey, sweet and sour pork, or any other imitation of oriental food
38. You either really, really want to go to UCI or really, really want to stay away from it
39. Your parents have never kissed you
40. Your parents have never kissed each other
41. You learned about the birds and the bees from someone other than your parents
42. "You want a stereo?! When I was your age, I didn't even have shoes!!"
43. People see a bunch of scribbles on a chopstick and ask you to translate
44. You have to call just about all your parent's friends "Auntie and Uncle"
45. You have 12+ aunts and uncles
46. At expensive restaurants, you order a delicious glass of water for your beverage and NEVER order dessert
47. Your parents simply cut the green/black part off the bread and say "Eat anyway. It's still good."
48. The vast majority of the people related to you wear glasses. Thick glasses.
49. You will most likely be taller than your parents
50. Your parents have either make you play the piano, the violin, or both
51. You get nothing if you do well in school, but crapped on if you don't
52. When going to other people's houses, you always have to bring a gift
53. Your dad still pulls his socks up to his knees, you know, the ones with the blue and pink stripes at the top
54. Your family owns a tennis racquet, golf clubs, or both
55. Your family always cheers for the Asian athlete on TV (i.e. Michael Chan)
56. The furniture in your house never matches the wallpaper, the carpet, the decorations, or any of the rest of the furniture
57. You have rocks, sticks, leaves, and strange-smelling, unknown substances in your pantry for use as medicine
58. You own a rice cooker or two
59. You buy soy sauce by the gallon
60. Your family owns butcher knives bigger than your head
61. Your parents tell you about how long it took for them to get to school, how horrible the weather was in their native country, and how much they still appreciated going
62. Your parents buy you clothes and shoes many sizes too big so you can "grow into it" and wear it for years to come.

I got this from http://www.asianjoke.com/general/ways_of_asians.htm, just in case you're wondering.

MSNBC-Racial Segregation in Mississippi

I found this article on the MSNBC website. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36481437/ns/us_news-life/

I think that this article makes it clear that race is still a major issue within our country. Although the school district was not directly segregating their school system, the fact that they allowed so many individuals to transfer to schools outside of their district to districts that were dominated by one race gives the impression that they still support racial segregation. Because SLU is so focused on diversity, I have come to realize just how important respect and understanding for other cultures is, and I feel that there are many benefits to this level of understanding. I think that this school district allowed this to happen, possibly thinking that it could cut down on issues involving race within the schools and make students more comfortable. But at the same time, if we never leave our comfort zone, what exactly do we learn? Through being surrounded by people of numerous different races, I have learned so much about other cultures and views. I think that if people avoid this, they are missing out on many opportunities to learn about other cultures.

Mexicans in the Landscaping Industry

After talking in class about immigrants and Mexican landscapers, I have been reflecting on this subject quite a bit. I worked in the landscaping industry for almost 3 years, and part of my job was to help the Mexicans fill out their paperwork and apply for visas, etc. My experiences there showed me that these individuals are willing to work hard for their money. Many of them come to the United States on a work visa, meaning that they are only allowed to live here during the months that they are needed for work. Because of this, many of them leave their families in Mexico to come here and make money, which they then send home to their loved ones. Sometimes I think that people in America expect opportunities simply because they live here, but these individuals are truly grateful for the opportunity to come here and make minimum wage just to provide for their families, in the hopes that one day they may be able to live here. Another thing that I noticed, was that when we hired white individuals they were much less reliable, as a whole, than the Mexican employees we had. For the whites, it was just another job; they didn't necessarily like it, they didn't take much pride in their work, they simply came because they wanted a paycheck. The Mexican employees that we had, however, were quite the opposite. They took a lot of pride in what they did, knowing that what they were doing was making all the difference in the world to their loved ones back in Mexico. They were grateful for the opportunity to make money here. I think that a lot of people don't necessarily see it from this perspective. Instead, they think of Mexicans as taking a job away from them. Based on my experiences, however, I do not feel that this is the case. Any thoughts?

I work at Laclede's and recently we had a very interesting issue come up regarding race. Last Friday, during Happy Hour, we had a table of 4 black women come in. They saw that the only table open by the bar had no chairs at it, and simply asked the bartender if she could bring them chairs. Seeing as our bartenders are not supposed to leave the bar during happy hour, she simply told them that she was unable to, but that there were plenty of open seats on the other side of the restaurant. Furthermore, another group came in, consisting of 5 white males, who had the same dilemma. However, instead of asking the bartender to bring them chairs, they asked a server who happened to be doing nothing at the time. The server brought them chairs without hesitation. When the original table of black women saw this, they immediately complained that this was a racial issue.
Initially, I never would have considered this to be an issue of race. However, after stepping back from the situation and looking at it from their point of view, I can sort of see why they felt that way. This situation made me realize how much race affects certain people and how one situation can be interpreted by different people in different ways. I think that because I tend to ignore race when dealing with people that come into Lacledes, it wouldn't have initially occurred to me that this situation was racist, but it was obviously upsetting to our customers. In a way, I think that this shows that there are people that still feel very oppressed because of their race, and therefore shows that race is still a major issue within our country. Any thoughts?

Race in Commercials

I have realized that the majority of the things I do are done with the television on in the background, making my media and pop culture knowledge somewhat above what is normal. Yet, I have decided that if this is what I know best then I might as well use that knowledge for my blogs. This being said I am going to carry on my theme of the presence of race on television once again.

For a while now I have vaguely noticed that McDonald's highly utilizes racially targeted commercials. But recently I have been noticing them even more and exactly what types of images and stereotypes they are using. It is not a new practice for a company to create an ad or commercial that is specifically targeted to sell to a certain race; it can help increase sales across a wider market as well as create a better image for the company. I have noticed though that McDonald's does this very frequently and even to the extreme of creating numerous commercials for the same sandwich that appeal to different races. What has really come to my attention recently is the commonality of using black actors in commercials promoting the Dollar Menu. The more I pay attention to it, the more I notice the lack of white actors in the Dollar Menu commercials. Once I noticed this I began to think about the negative affect this could have for McDonald's. These commercials could be construed to be encourage negative stereotypes of Black Americans. They seem to make the statement that if you are black, then you may not have as much money, thus the Dollar Menu is the best choice.

These commercials offend me, and I am not black, I can only imagine how someone who is may feel. What would make McDonald's think that assuming that advertising their cheapest menu to a certain demographic is appropriate. It is is almost racial profiling. I get the feeling that they send these commercials out with the underlying message something along the lines of "Come to McDonald's; we know by your race that you probably don't have much money, but look, we have a DOLLAR MENU!! So, you can still be a patron, you can still afford us!" Maybe that is just the message I hear...how bout all of you?

From the guy who wrote stuff white people like

this editorial about the census

How important is it to be bilingual?

I don't know why I didn't talk about this earlier on, especially when we were discussing the importance of language and the idea of bilingualism in class. This is something my dad brought to my attention when the Presidential Elections were taking place in 2008 and also the campaigning process prior to that. He raised really interesting point--why do none of the presidential candidates speak another language?

In our world today, we have interactions with people from all over the world. This is especially true in terms of politics--diplomats, presidents, and ambassadors are communicating and meeting on a daily basis. But how come we expect others who come here to know English and to be able to communicate with us? We often judge others whenever they speak with an accent or grammatical errors, but realistically speaking, these diplomats and politicians are better able to communicate with American politicians on an intellectual level that is not even their native language.

What my dad said to me really got me thinking, why aren't our presidents able to speak another language? What kind of message does it send to politicians around the world and what impact does the fact that these politicians often need translators have on the relationships between our politicians and the politicians of other countries?

It is no doubt that English is one of the most spoken languages around the world even though it comes third after Chinese (spoken by 874 million people) and Hindi (spoken by 336 million people). People around the world are learning English from an early age. Why is that in American society the importance of learning a foreign language is only stressed after middle school, if stressed at all?

I really do think being able to speak more than one language is important; particularly for someone who is in a position to interact with world leaders.

Do you guys think our future presidents should be able to speak more than one language?

True Blood

Has anyone seen True Blood? Sure, its a show about vampires, but it is extremely interesting and says a lot about society. In the show, the vampires are the new "minority" and struggle to find a place in society. Its really interesting to watch how they mirror the minority groups of today- fighting for marriage rights and the right to be treated fairly. The humans have applied untrue and dangerous stereotypes to them and refuse to let them be truly apart of society simply because they are different. The humans that are openminded are treated as outcasts. It seems silly and ridiculous, but it really points out how ignorant and absurd our society can be by the underlying comparisons.

The vampires in the show are shown as different based on their past culture, food (synthetic blood of course,) and general characteristics. Everyone is afraid of them and wants to kick them out of town before even getting to know them. Once the vampires attempt to assimilate and one wrong thing happens in an isolated incident, all of them are treated as guilty. If you have not seen the show, I think you should try watching it (its a little vulgar and graphic beware) because it really points out some interesting things that apply to what we have talked about all semester!

Theatre and Race

On the same line as Avenue Q there is a theatre company in St. Louis that specializes on productions that are race and ethnic related. This organization takes world events that affect that St. Louis area and makes productions that brings light to the issues. They are more a teaching organization. The do not have an actual theatre location the organization rents out places but they have done a number of productions here in Xavier hall. They did a production about Pakistani women who live in St. Louis. The production was put together by storied women here is St. Louis had to share about their life in Pakistan and here in America. They are working on a new production, this too is based of storied from people right here in the city, that is called something to the likes of "The Black Crows". The premiss is based on the people in St. Louis who are often overlooked but make the world to others. The woman who is in charge of this organization came and talked to our class and one of the examples she shared with us was about a homeless man who without knowing saved a mans life. The homeless man person always said have a good rest of the day to everyone that walks by. One day a man who is planning on committing suicide walks by the man and he says to him have a great day. The man then realizes, if this homeless man can stay positive why shouldn't I; there is always something or someone more worse off. Obviously this homeless man doesn't realize he save this man's life but he had touched someone. Those people who are so overlooked are also so valuable to life. I think the idea of making educational production to bring large social topic down to size for an audience is a very good way to spread a message and possibly change.

Im sure you all are wondering why I didn't include the company name. Well, I didn't actually take notes on the presentation and I can not, for the life of me, find anything about the company, the woman's name, or the productions I mentioned above online. I have no idea why, sorry. If I ever do fine it i will let you know.

Everyone's A Little Bit Racist

Just about the story line...

The musical is bases off a book written by Jeff Whitty. His inspiration was Sesame Street. He takes the basic ideas of Sesame Street by basing the character after those on the show (although more controversial), setting it on a street (although this one is rundown), and brings, for the first time, puppets and onstage actors together for the audience. Both the live characters and puppet characters sing, and short animated video clips are played as part of the story. The production is so controversial because it deals with real life lesson about homosexuality, race, and sex. These topics combined make it an adult rated puppet show, so mush so they are required to make a claim about how it is not affiliated with PBS by any means.

This is very interesting to me; the use of a childish characters or props (puppets) but applied to adults. We post a lot about comedians and the use of race as jokes. How it is okay to laugh sometimes and how it is not other times. I think by taking topics that are difficult to talk about and using something such as comedy or theatre we can look at them and really see how they affect our society. I think that theatre is an especially interesting way of adapting what is happening at large in society and bring it down to size for an audience. It shows the audience they too can actually relate; although, they might think that problems with racism, homosexuality, and the like exist outside their realm. By bringing it closer to the everyday level people experience the moral of the story and maybe even reflect on their own ideas about the topic discusses.

We talked about the song everyone is a little racist so I just wanted to post a clip on the blog so everyone could hear a little of it.

It's at the Fox this weekend if anyone is interested in seeing it.

Minority Workers

Today in class I was thinking about one time when a Mexican family came to do some landscaping for my dad. The only person that spoke English was a little boy who came with them and he was about 6. He was the only one who could communicate with me, and I could tell they were all family members and it was a type of business we had talked about in class. If anything, I did not look down on them at all...I admired their work ethic and how close they were. The 6 year old did not ever complain even though it was about 100 degrees outside. I brought him a Powerade and he was amazed because he had never tried one. At the time, I thought it was weird that he had never even heard of Powerade, but why would he? Its something truly culturally American.

The thing that struck me about this little boy was how well he translated and communicated between the other workers and I. He was so well spoken. He was in second grade and talked to me about his classes, and although he seemed a little nervous and apprehensive to talk to me, he was unbelievably polite. How could people be mad about this? My dog, a boxer, is hyper but sweet, and she was so trusting of these people that she did not bark when they arrived (and she usually does with strangers) and I had no idea they were there. She stayed by the little boy and gently walked next to him the entire time. He told me that she was the only dog that had ever been nice to him, which surprised me. Moose, my dog, taught me a very valuable lesson about trust that day- it has nothing to do with skin color, stereotypes, or assumptions... its all about qualities that everyone is often way too quick to judge.

"This is Alabama, we speak English."

WOW!

So, after reading the post about the immigration laws in Arizona, I came across an article talking about an Alabama candidate for governor Tim James’ new ad. In the ad, James talks about how the state of Alabama gives the driver’s license exam in 12 languages. James promises that as governor he will ensure that the exam will only be given in English. In the ad he is quoted as saying, “This is Alabama, we speak English. If you want to live here, learn it.” I was completely shocked by the ad and the extremely controversial statements that James makes in his ad.

To me, the ad has serious undertones of being anti-immigration. I view the ad as Alabama (particularly Tim James) discouraging the influx of immigrants in to its state. In such a progressive nation, it is extremely sad and discouraging to see such a radical push for a seemingly-backwards change.

What do you all think about this ad?

Visit Youtube to view the ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9ohsvJHkbY&feature=player_embedded

Race v Ethnicity

Our class discussions about the differences between race and ethnicity are interesting. To me, race is depicted as almost a negative quality, even cold while, ethnicity is illustrated as more positive, warm, and pleasant. During class, I asked if there are ways in which we can view race in a more positive light. I keep trying to think about an answer to my question. I am still not sure that I know an answer to my question. But I tried to think about the conception of race as a biological entity. I was wondering if we can view race positively as a means to biological diversity. Beyond the cultural aspects, there is an element of actual biological differences—most particularly the physical features of an individual. Can we view attractiveness in a way that is reflected as purely biological (racial), rather than as ethnic beauty? I think that this is somewhat feasible. In our society, there is such an awareness of beauty (as can be illustrated by the many posts that discussed beauty). And beauty is merely a interpretation of biological features. It may be a stretch, but I think it kind of works…

Do you all have any other ways to try to depict race as more positive? Or any feedback?

Class Today

Today in class, I realized how truly differently I do think about race and ethnicity in an every day setting. Listening to my friends talk, I pick up on a lot of societal cues that I would not have a few months ago. I question racial jokes and wonder why they were provoked or necessary, beyond just simply thinking they were wrong-- I wonder what has happened in society to make them exist.

I have learned that whether we like it or not, racial issues are everywhere. My friend said earlier this week, "I cant believe you have talked about race and ethnicity for an entire four months...well I guess until everyone is the same orangey gray color it will always be an issue." At first, I laughed and then I thought about it...and there was a lot of truth and sadness in that statement. Yes, everyone will remain different colors (orangey gray would be pretty weird after all) but will it always remain an issue? Or is it possible that society will evolve to be open-minded enough so that skin color is simply like hair color or eye color.

I think we have at least all progressed to a good point where we recognize deeper racial issues and see the societal reasons behind them- hopefully, and ideally, this will lead us to be less judgemental and allow us to use our knowledge progressively. Perhaps I am being too optimistic, but I honestly believe and hope it does not take an orangey gray color to make us all see each other the same.

Language

This comedian shit was used in my social psychology class. We were talking about how language is a key symbol in our society but lately with slang and the different uses for word it has become harder for even Americans who speak "american english" to communicate. This is because in order to communicate we need to have a shared set of meanings or symbols, language is that for us. When we cant understand what people are saying or what they mean by what they are saying problems understanding and communicating occur. We talked about the importance of a shared understanding because without it we have nothing to ground us together as a society, as a people. This skit is not racist. It just takes words that have more than one meaning and applies them to what could be confusing for people who do not understand the slang of the language. It does have some bad language so be aware before you view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFW6NHbWX0E&feature=PlayList&p=644BE081C8793BC7&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=2

My Baptist Church Experience

Freshman year, I got my first taste of what it felt like to not be liked because of your race (well, the first one I was aware of at least) when I attended a Baptist church service not too far from campus with an African American lady I had become close to through Campus Kitchen. Before my roommate and I left for church, she said "Dont let them bother you. Dont let anyone get you down, you two are beautiful the way you are and dont let that race stuff get to you." I had never considered that it would be an issue.

We were the only two white people in the entire building that Sunday- the first time I had ever stood out that much. Everyone was very friendly, except for a few older men who shot us glares. At the time, I had wondered why it mattered so much- after all, it was a church. Today, I realize we had imposed on their comfort zone. By entering that church, we made race matter even if it should not have. I was never mad about the experience- I have always been so grateful for it. It is so important to realize that people treat you a certain way because of how they have been treated in the past. The glares were probably a direct result of how other white people have made him feel in the past, and whether we liked it or not, we had invaded a comfort zone. I think it would be great if more white people, especially those that do not believe race matters anymore, would be put into more situations when they are not the norm or unmarked...it really opens your eyes to what is still happening in society.

Arizona Immigration Law

So most of you would probably have heard about the new immigration law signed by the governor of Arizona last Friday. There is a lot of anguish and protest against the law, which requires that police officers check the immigration status of anyone if there is "reasonably suspicion" that that person is illegally residing in the U.S.

Besides the argument that the law is unconstitutional since states cannot pass laws that deal with foreign affairs, many people also believe that this law would become an excuse for racial profiling. The "reasonably suspicion" under which the police officer is allowed to ask civilians for their identification documents is not very clearly defined at this point. Many people are afraid that this would allow the police to abuse their power.

I think this immigration law is dangerous. If left unchallenged, it would create a precedent that would give ways to laws condoning racial profiling and other racialized act. What stuns me more is the prejudice and misconception about Latinos that become some of the main reasons people use to defend this law. One civilian caller on CNN has the idea that these illegal immigrants constitute all the criminals and druggies in his state and that getting rid of them would solve all the problems.

I think this shows just how deep racism is embedded in our society. Unfortunately, there is very little that can be done to change the biased opinions of these people.

Ethnicity, Beauty, and Jessica Simpson??

Once again I am writing a blog about a show that I have been watching. It is Jessica Simpson's The Price of Beauty (I'm a loser, I'm aware), I was very intrigued by the concept of this show though, even if it did have to include Jessica Simpson. The premise of the show is that Jessica travels to a number of different countries to learn about what it means to be beautiful in different cultures. I am surprisingly pleased with this show everytime I do watch it, not only does it have a very good tone but it also promotes cultural relativism and embracing the things that make us all different.

I began thinking that this show could really help give people in the US have a better grasp and understanding of other peoples and ethnicities. And the really nice thing about the show is that it is packaged is an easily accessable form for American audiences. In each episode Jessica and her two friends really learn about the people and the view of beauty in each country they go to. There are fact bubbles that pop up throughout the show; and there is always a focus on an action that may seem extremely strange to Americans but is still graspable. I think it is really good that this show exists, even if it is not the most scientific of ethnographic studies, I believe it is a good step into improving understanding and even more importantly, embracing diversity; both in our own culture and across others.

Language and Health Care

While we are on the topic of language, I thought it would be good to bring up how it is affecting health care, especially Spanish. In medical ethics, we have been talking a lot about this recently. The main issue is the problem of translators- how do we communicate the right medical information while maintaining confidentiality and make sure everyone is completely informed?

Recently, there has been issues especially in smaller towns with medical care and the Spanish speaking population. I cannot remember where or when this happened, but in some small town there was a lot of racial tension because of the influx of illegal immigrants.... it got so bad that several people actually died because the health care workers either turned them away from the emergency room or did not understand the severity of their problems.

Another issue that is huge is translating signs and medical waivers and information-- some hospitals argue that due to funding, they are unable to translate information because it is "expensive." This country is facing a lot of health care reform, and I think it is necessary for the general public to understand how unethical it is for health care workers to not be able to communicate with their patients! Translators and translated information needs to be the norm, not an exception. It is absolutely tragic that people have to die because of a language barrier in one of the most developed countries in the world.

Racism Funny?

So, I am a very big fan of the late night comedy/talk show on the E! network; Chelsea Lately. The host of the show is comedian Chelsea Handler whose extreme honesty and bluntness are the reason for her outrageous success and popularity. This shocking form of comedy does commonly include jokes that could be considered borderline if not fully racist. These types of jokes are commonplace and generally well received by both her audience and fellow comedians that accompany her on the show. And the majority of these other comedians are all types of different people, her 'round table' as it is called is a picture of diversity.

In all my time watching this show, which I have to admit is quite frequently (every night), I have never really thought too much about these jokes. In all honesty I was never really offended, but I did notice the frequent presence of jokes based on or rooted in a racial topic. Maybe it is the fact that so many of the comedians are of many races, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, and even body size (her personal assistant is a mexican little person) that has prevented me from taking any serious notice of the use of race for humor on her show.

Yet, tonight while I was watching, I was really listening more to what was being said on the show and found myself thinking where this fits into the discourse of race. We have discussed in class how when people are comfortable with the friends around them, jokes with a racism tone can occur and aren't necessarily taken negatively, but can that be held true for when these jokes among friends are then put on national television? Is it funny or is it wrong? If I laugh at the jokes is that wrong? What is the right way to view this type of situation? Chelsea Handler herself even stated "I think being racist is really funny. When I say a Chinese person is good at math, that's a compliment. It's not like I'm saying they smell like egg rolls." So, is this actually racism? Or is it just comedy? What do you guys think?

Are they talking about me?

Let me just say that chapter 3 described my life--in more than one context.
I was reading the part in which Urciuoli describes Lena and her perception of the women who appear to "forget" English and switch to speaking Spanish. Lena disagrees with their excuse that they are "Spanish people" and asserts that they are just pretending to be forgetting English. The women, on the other hand, claim that they easily forget that Lena cannot speak Spanish so it is sometimes easier for them to switch to their native tongue. But they also point out that they are not talking about Lena in any way.

Here's where I can relate. I was actually having coffee with my neighbor the other day and he is from Puerto Rico. His friend (also from Puerto Rico) saw us sitting outside and decided to join us. We talked about a number of things but all of a sudden they started speaking in Spanish completely. I don't really know that much Spanish so I was really just sitting there waiting for them to finish. From time to time my neighbor would stop and tell me what they were talking about--they were discussing an ongoing strike in Puerto Rico. I knew for a fact that that's what they were talking about because I heard the word "huelga" throughout their conversation many times and I know that it means "strike".

But if I didn't know any Spanish at all, would I have felt uncomfortable like Lena? Would I think that they were talking about me and would I feel uneasy and uncomfortable? I felt uncomfortable because I felt casted out, I couldn't jump in the conversation and they know I'm not fluent to hold a coherent conversation for more than 30 seconds, but I didn't feel threatened in any way, is my point.

Lena believes that the excuse "we're Spanish people" doesn't warrant their "forgetting". But is it because they truly forget? Or is it simply because it is easier to communicate and explain things better in Spanish?

I know that Danny and Carlos didn't forget, because they clearly know I cannot speak Spanish and my understanding of their conversation when they are speaking at 50miles an hour is minimal to say the least. But they do it anyway because they have a better control over their ability to communicate to one another and explain things in more precise terms.

Urciuoli - Good English

Urciuoli’s chapter “Good English as Symbolic Capital” was very interesting and informative. I never really thought of the English language and the way in which you speak the English language as capital, but it truly is. As I was reading the chapter, I realized how much this is present, particularly in my own life. My mom is a US citizen and has been for a little over 20 years. She is fluent in both Korean and English. However, she is constantly worried about her use of the English language—the actual words she uses, the structuring of words, her accent, etc.—and what it says about her. She continually checks herself when speaking and seeks the assistance and help of others when preparing for an important discussion or interview.

Additionally, I have a 6-year old sister Haley. As she was and still is learning to speak and form grammatically correct sentences, my mom is still hesitant to model the English language for her. She will always ask me, my sister, or my stepdad to repeat it for Haley. She wants to make sure that Haley will not pick up the accent, incorrect tenses, etc, from her pronunciations.

It is neat to see how the things that Urciuoli studied and described in her book can be seen in everyday life if we stop to think and understand the reasoning behind interactions. It is clear that my mom wants to ensure that she is not viewed as uneducated, lowly, and incapable. She understands, whether consciously or unconsciously, that her use of the English language is important capital.

Use of Black English to Teach Standard American English

Today's video, especially the part where we were introduced to the three African Americans who were students at the MLK School, made me think about how we can use Black English to teach African American children to use Standard American English.

As a psychology student, I have read many studies on the African American community regarding Black English (BE) and Standard American English (SAE). Through the years, researchers have found that African American students comparatively underperform white students in school. Studies have shown that one reason for the underperformance by African American students is due to a language barrier. The students maintain the use of their culturally acquired language BE while the teachers and school systems use SAE. The discrepancy of language hinders the potential progress and opportunities available to African Americans. Teachers must be made aware of this fact and be encouraged and instructed to use BE in their classrooms to assist the achievement of SAE.

It is vital that teachers of African American students realize that the process by which information is acquired is culturally determined. Different ethnicities acquire their knowledge through various means all the while trying to maintain their cultural identity. In order to facilitate the acquisition of SAE by African American students, teachers should be accepting of the BE vernacular. Teachers should incorporate BE in their daily lessons and general communication. When there is acceptance and respect of one’s native language, there is less reluctance to accept SE. The teachers who utilize BE in a respectful and accepting approach will have more success in teaching their students SAE and proper code-switching.

One way in which to teach African American students SAE is to teach in the relational learning style of self-centeredness. Teachers convey the teaching of SAE to their students in a manner that facilitates the desires of a self-centered learner to achieve an education will be beneficial and applicable to solving social problems. It has been found that “the demands of early adult socialization (job seeking, higher education, etc.) may encourage the acquisition of SE competency for the sake of survival or socioeconomic advancement” (Burnett). If teachers show their students the relevance that SAE has on their future, it may help the students to embrace the learning of SAE and learning to properly cod-switch depending upon the context.

Additionally, I have read research that found that children may regard BE as a test of in-group commitment, which would view BE as an acceptable form of speech and SE as selling out. Therefore, African American children may benefit when they learn communally. Teachers can form groups of students that can work together to understand and learn both BE and SAE. The students can work together to use their BE vernacular to translate and form sentences in SAE. By working in groups using both BE and SAE children will not feel that they are neglecting their culture or deviating from the group.

Additionally, teachers can utilize BE in an interaction, motion-filled manner to teach African American students SAE. By moving away from standard teaching methods and using games, songs, and dances that incorporate the use of both BE and SAE could be beneficial in teaching African American students SAE.

Teachers need to concern themselves with teaching African American students SAE and proper code-switching methods. To achieve these objectives, teachers need to step outside the box and use unconventional methods, particularly the incorporation of BE into the school setting. Embracing the students’ culture will only make the learning of SAE more acceptable and important to the students involved.

Do you all have additional suggestions?

Self Segregation

We have talked recently about the concept of self segregation and it has left me wondering- is this concept something that is acknowledged by minority groups? Or is it seen as more of an excuse white people use to justify segregation? This concept goes hand in hand with the idea of comfort zones talked about in the UVA article. Since reading the article and talking about it in class, I have been observing a lot of areas on campus to figure out if they are comfort zones or areas people self segregate themselves to in order to not feel out of place or like minorities. However, I am constantly left wondering who's fault it is for such places... Is it racism and lack of diversity pushing minority students away or are they consciously choosing to congregate in specific areas?

The answer I have found to make the most sense is, well, both. Recently, SLU has been the location for multiple racial incidents, and I know several of my minority friends have mentioned feeling unsafe after them. While a select few performed these acts that no doubt the majority disagree with, how should minority students know that? Perhaps it has prevented minority students from branching out into areas they do not feel comfortable in because they feel out of place or different. Maybe it is both sides fault, with the majority being to blame for ignoring there is an issue. And despite some deep American desire to be an individual, very few people actually enjoy being an outsider.

As a response to this racial hate, quite a few groups have been getting together to be proactive and show support for the SLU community and reject the racial claims. A lot of these members are white and have been demanding SLU acknowledge the issues and do something about them. I admire these groups and completely support them... and as a white student think it is a great way to try to get rid of the hate and bring everyone together. But the question that lingers in my mind continues to be is it enough? Will minority students appreciate the gesture but continue to self segregate? Do minority students consciously self segregate themselves or is this concept offensive? Im having a hard time putting all the pieces together.

Real Women Have Curves

Oh, thought of something else in response to Thoa's latest blog: anyone see the movie "Real Women Have Curves"? It's a good one with America Ferrara about a Mexican-American girl struggling with her body image, her family's traditional values, and fitting into American society.

As we've talked about in other classes, the standard of beauty in a particular culture seems to arise as the most difficult type to attain. When it comes to the United States, though, with such diversity, different standards seem to apply in a variety of ways to people of specific races and ethnic groups. Could this variety eventually throw to the wayside a single view of what's beautiful? Or does it simply provide contrast to the group of people in power as ways not to be?

ASIAN AMERICAN BEAUTY: A DISCOURSE ON FEMALE BODY IMAGE

Video Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv-WI6Vlrpk&playnext_from=TL&videos=yEMhOqWBYWI
Video Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8XWQ62HdCs&playnext_from=TL&videos=cLWQf9E9k8c

How are Asian American women supposed to look? Thin? Petite? Exotic? Cute?
This post is partially a complement to Chris’s A Girl Like me. The link above is directed to a short film that addresses the issues of Asian American standards of beauty. Winner of the audience favorite at the 30th Annual Asian American International Film Festival in SF, the film is basically a compilation of interviews with Asian American college students at Columbia University, directed by Calvin Sun.

One interviewee speaks, in reference to Asian American standards of beauty, of “two expectations that can’t possibly co-exist.” These Asian students speaks up about the pressure they face in this society to look both “western” (exotic, alluring, and sexy) and “Asian” (innocent, petite, and submissive). As hard as it is to feel comfortable in your own skin nowadays with images of supermodels and Hollywood stars plastered everywhere, Asian Americans, especially the females, have to face this contradiction that makes it even harder for them to establish their own self-identity since their body image is especially tied to their Asian identity.

Another discourse discussed in this film is that of eating disorder, which is more common than most people think in the Asian American population, but is an extremely taboo subject among Asian Americans because of their conservative cultural backgrounds. Sometimes, Asian females feel even more pressure than their white counterparts to be thin because thinnest stereotypically comes with the norm of being Asian; it’s not limitedly viewed an aspired standard trait of beauty, but a norm is what I’m trying to say.

When I was younger, the greatest problem I had with my image was being too tall. Standing at 5’6 right now, I’m pretty comfortable with my height. But imagine being around this height at the age of 13 and standing next to girls who are at least half a foot shorter than you. Every time I went to some Asian events, I always felt like I was the giant in the crowd.

In any case, I think this film begins a good dialogue about the issues that Asian Americans are encountering in regard to our idea of beauty and what the media tries to brainwash us into, and how, if possible, can we change the way the media and other people view us.

Finally, have you guys ever had any problem with your body image and has it ever been tied to your race or ethnicity?

Confederate History Month?

Have you guys heard about this?

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell issued a proclamation to reinstate Confederate History Month without mentioning slavery at all! It was only after President Obama declared this "unacceptable" that the Governor apologized and added a statement portraying slavery as a cause of the Civil War and a "hateful" institution.

I have followed a couple of news reports on CNN interviewing Confederate reenactors and their opinions that the Confederate History Month should be seen as an educational component that recounts the history of the South. But are people forgetting the root cause of the Civil War? Slavery was not ONE of the factors for the Civil War, it was THE factor for conflict.

President Obama said it perfectly in that you cannot understand the Confederacy or the Civil War unless you understand slavery. We live in the 21st century, and we have government officials such as this Governor who do not wish to acknowledge slavery in reinstating a Confederate History Month proclamation? I really don't know what to think right now. It makes me question a lot of things.

Any thoughts?

the noose pictures

Chris asked whether his friend should be labeled a racist because he took the pictures and posted them on Facebook. Chris maintains that his friend is NOT a racist, and that it seems unfair to label him a racist because of his actions in this particular case.

Here's a thought: can we productively distinguish between individual racists and a racist climate in general? That is, can we hold people accountable even when they are not (or claim not to be) racists when they say or do something that can be construed as racially antagonistic by others?

What those 2 SGA officers seem to be claiming is that they are not racists, and that those pictures were misunderstood. What this claim fails to acknowledge is that we still live in a climate that is racist, and we can't ignore that fact when we rationalize our behavior or the behavior of people we know.

What do you think?

Invisible Americans

http://www.aalead.org/content/Report%20-%20Invisible%20Americans.pdf

If you have a little time, I invite you to take a look at this report.

This article discusses the problems and discrimination that millions of Asian Americans have to face that are masked by labels such as the "model minority" and skewed statistics. These misconceptions do no service to those Asians living in poverty and facing racial discrimination because they make their problems invisible. For those who are educated and well off economically, these misconceptions draw attention away from that fact that Asian Americans still face discrimination in the work field today in the form of glass ceilings, are paid less than their Caucasian counterpart who may be less educated than themselves, and may be held to a higher standard in the college admission process of selective schools.

Viewing the conditions of Asian Americans in a pan-racialized way will bury the fact that while Japanese Americans have an 88% graduation rate, other sub groups such as the Hmongs only have a 31% graduation rate. Per capita income for Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian Americans is about half that of whites and Asians are increasingly becoming targets for hate crimes.

Another problem that arise from these Asian stereotypes and labels is the pressure that are put on Asian American students to do well in school. These stereotypes that Asians are naturally intelligent and hard-working make it so that teachers tend to overlook the struggles that Asian American students have in school. Asian parents often latch on these stereotypes and feel that if their child doesn't do well in school, it is considered an embarrassment and a failure on their part as parents. I know of Asian American students who commit suicide because they couldn't fulfill the expectation put on them. There's even a bizarre story about a girl who sneaked into Stanford and posed as a student for a semester because she couldn't tell her parents that she was rejected by the school.

At the end of the day, Asian Americans' problems concerning poverty, discrimination, and unrealistic expectation are very complex because, while relatively few people pretend that African or Latino Americans are well off in America, many people tend to overlook the problems found in the Asian American community because of the labels, myths, and stereotypes.

Racial Slurs and Gran Torino

Today’s class discussion about the use of racial slurs made me think about the movie Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood’s character (Walt) lives his life faithfully believing in stereotypes and demonstrating his racist tendencies. The movie introduced me to a string of racial slurs that I didn’t even know existed. Through the course of the movie, we see Walt befriend the very people that he has spent his entire life marking. The movie illustrates what we have talked about throughout the semester—race and stereotypes can simply be “forgotten” with the formation of friendships, relationships, etc.

First, the movie demonstrates the power of relationships. By forming a relationship, Walt is able to overlook the racial stereotypes. He ultimately sacrifices his life for his new friends. It is incredible to me how powerful the notion of familiarity and friendship can be.

Secondly, in relation to the incident concerning the picture of the noose and note, I think Anelga mentioned that in their resignations they tried to assert the innocence (for lack of a better word) of their actions by claiming their friendship with many minority students. Dr. Fathman’s comment about reevaluating the definition of friendship strikes me as somewhat valid. If these students valued their friendships and respected their friends as people, would they have been okay with their actions? Furthermore, would they be alright with posting the photo for the entire world to see? To me, they did not at all demonstrate that they valued and respected their minority friends. Walt, on the other hand, valued and respected his friends so much that he was willing to lose his life in order to ensure their safety.

Can you think of any other examples of how racism is overcome in cultural mediums?

Do you have any remaining thoughts from today’s discussion?

Obama and the census

Here is a lonk to an article about race and Obama and the census. We all already know this stuff, though!

Contextualizing Racism & The Power of Web 3.0

Maybe you all have heard this story, but I just heard of it today, so I figured I'd push it on forward... even though that's how issues like these start in the first place.

Back in July 2009, a picture was taken of 2 guys who went to SLU and posted on facebook by a friend of mine. 1 of the guys was holding a noose and the other guy was holding a white piece of paper that read something similar to "This noose for white people only" - in an attempt to "not be racist," I think. Turns out the two guys in the photo are in SGA at SLU right now, and the person who took & posted the photo holds a good position at the university also - or did. All 3 of them resigned today.

Now - the photo certainly wasn't funny. Honestly, I didn't even understand it at first, or the sign he was holding - just the noose and the actions that were implied. I don't feel badly for the 2 guys in the photo - maybe I would if I knew them personally, who knows. But I DO know the guy who took the photo - he is a very good friend of mine, and one of the most studious, shy, quiet, friendly people you will ever meet. Even talking to him about it (he knew it was stupid of him to post it now), he feels horrible and never meant anything like this to happen. He truly is like everyone in this class - open towards other people and friendly to all - I can't overemphasize this. He said "It wasn't meant to be racist," and I responded,

"Well - if you didn't mean for it to be racist, isn't that in itself racializing something?"

What do you think? Is it racializing something if you are trying to avoid racializing it?

But to main topic and question - how is race contextualized? This image was post NINE MONTHS before anyone went through facebook and thought to pass it on to someone else. In fact, I'm sure people laughed at it and realized it as a racist joke and passed it on a few times before it came to hold the meaning it now does! All last semester, when race "didn't seem to be an issue for SLU" (from my view, this only recently became important), this image never came up. And I don't think it was a simple fact of someone stumbling over it now - though it could have been. Someone probably realized the person held a position of power at SLU and realized the damage it could cause with the recent controversy of race at SLU.

So how is race and racism contextualized? Why was the image not so important BEFORE, but now that race has become a popular, trending topic at SLU the image dealt SUCH a blow to people?

Would it have had the same affect last year? Why didn't it even have the same effect last semester?

Do you think they should have had to resign from their jobs? If it wasn't so important to make them resign in the past, why is it so important they must resign now? How far can a joke go... to completely eliminate racism, do we need to erase even the simplest of racist jokes?

I think this goes to show what kind of power social networking and the web 3.0 (no longer 2.0!) has on people, the images of people, and the perspective images can make people have over others. Beware! Protect your images and REALIZE - even protected, it will always be cached in the internet! I wonder how long long it will take for everyone to have that "one regretted photo" that they didn't even realize would become a big deal.

Food, race, and ethnicity

I had a dream last night that involved food: Belgian waffles, a Mexican restaurant, and a Chinese restaurant. No need to bore you with the details of the dream, but it made me think about the discussion we had about food in class. When can food be considered racialized and when is it ethnic?

If we apply the threatening-exotic distinction to food, we may be able to assume that any food that is too "out there" for our tastes is threatening and therefore falls into the racial category. Chicken feet? Goat eyes? Intestines? Most of those fall outside the range of acceptable foods in our minds and to our palates. Are they seen as more racialized than ethnic?

But wait -- what about travel shows and cooking shows that feature people eating unfamiliar (to us) foods? Is it the setting that makes those foods seem more exotic and less threatening? Is it the fact that they are being eaten IN THEIR NATIVE LAND that makes them less dangerous because the chance that WE will have to encounter them is more remote?

Do "too native" foods only seem dangerous (we need a better term for this, I think) when they are encountered HERE?

Or, is food a marker that we can manipulate more such that what was once viewed as threatening (still need a better term) is now exotic? Sushi? Guinea pig?

And if we can move the needle on food from dangerous to exotic (and sometimes to mainstream: some accounts put salsa sales ahead of ketchup, but there goes the Wall Street Journal to tramp down that statistic -- is salsa that threatening to the Wall Street types??), can we move it in other areas (language, religion, phenotype -- GASP!)?

This is what happens when I dream about food....

A Girl Like Me & The Doll Test

So I was going to start this post with a question on how gender plays a role in racial studies, but after watching the video, "A Girl Like Me," I'm much more interested in the doll test that was conducted.

If you haven't yet, please take the 7 [short] minutes or so to watch this video: A Girl Like Me

Was anyone else struck in the chest like I was when the children were told to choose which dolls were pretty and good and which dolls were ugly bad? Not that the question itself is bad, but when the little girl chose the white one that was "good," but "knew" the black one was "bad" and further CHOSE it when she was asked, "Which one looks like you?" - I just pretty much wanted to cry. It's a huge eye opener, and I just wanted to give her a hug. How does this happen? How do we not KNOW it's happening?! I would never want someone to feel inferior just because of the color of their skin.

When this same study was conducted by the Dr. Clark and Clark in the 1930's and 40's to study the effects of segregation, they came up with conclusion,

"They viewed the results as evidence that the children had internalized racism caused by being discriminated against and stigmatized by segregation." - Wiki Article Here

This idea of internalizing racism is and isn't a new concept to me. We've been talking about it throughout class that racism seems inherent, biological, but I think "internalized racism" is one we should add to the list. It's descriptive about racism in that we take these categories we base on biology, and rationalize them, and then internalize and apply it to our world in a way we don't realize how much we are doing it anymore. It really is quite an awakening to think about it in this way - but I find it hard to keep it in the forefront of my mind. It's what we need to start doing to start changing things. I never want that study to be reproduced and come to the same conclusions - that video itself should be enough to get us to change things.

So - what do you guys think of internalizing racism & how it's done? Also, how do you think America, society, and the media, works to perpetuate the stereotypes we see in the video? What do you all think needs to change and how should we start changing it?